HCRDI Hands Over Ningxia Sulfuric Acid Plant After First Year of Operation

Hefei Cement Research & Design Institute Co., Ltd. (HCRDI) has handed over an 800,000-tonne-per-year sulfuric acid plant in Ningxia following performance tests and a year of operations and maintenance support. Built for Ningxia Huaxia Special Steel Co., Ltd., part of Tianyuan Manganese Group, the plant makes acid from flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) gypsum and electrolytic manganese residue. It is China’s first large-scale facility to use the two materials together for sulfuric acid production.

The first production line began operating in late February 2025. Using lessons from that line, HCRDI adjusted the process before the second line began taking feedstock on 28 June 2025. It reached design capacity about two weeks later. Both lines have since operated steadily, with key performance indicators meeting or exceeding design targets.

The project brought together HCRDI’s process development, engineering design, equipment manufacturing, construction and commissioning capabilities. FGD gypsum from Tianyuan’s operations and nearby power plants, along with electrolytic manganese residue, is processed into sulfuric acid for Tianyuan’s own manganese production. This reduces the need to stockpile and dispose of those industrial byproducts while lowering purchases of sulfuric acid and exposure to market price swings.

Tianyuan has since awarded HCRDI engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for Phases II, III and IV of a separate manganese-residue-to-acid programme. Phase II is approaching start-up, while work on the later phases continues. HCRDI will draw on operating data and project experience from the Ningxia plant as it delivers these projects and develops further industrial waste recycling solutions.